Wage and Hour Issues—The Top Trend to Stay on Top of in 2013

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has been focused on enforcement of wage and hour violations in recent months, and the spotlight looks set to shine on these issues well into the new year.

In December, the DOL announced that its San Francisco and Los Angeles offices had conducted various restaurant investigations and recovered more than $672,000 in unpaid minimum wages and overtime for 273 restaurant staff. The department has even released a smart phone app allowing workers to track their own hours—so keeping your own detailed and comprehensive records of hours worked and overtime paid is more critical than ever before.

Don't fall foul of the FLSA—follow our top three tips to stay on track:

Keep accurate records of time worked. If you use a timeclock or other documented time tracking system, this one is easy. But if your business is like the thousands of U.S. businesses with no formal timeclock system, you'll need to keep meticulous records. A timesheet by itself isn't enough—it needs to be signed off by the employee, confirming it is a true and accurate record of hours worked, to avoid a later claim.

Track payments made to demonstrate that you are not only meeting the minimum wage, but also making accurate overtime payments for hours in excess of 40 each week. Complete, detailed payroll records are essential—and you'll need to store past records so you can be prepared in the event of an audit or investigation.

Discipline employees who work unauthorized overtime—but don't withhold pay. It's not just your word against theirs: technology—like company emails, screenshots and the new DOL app—can reveal whether an employee performed work, regardless of whether that work was authorized or not. The safer course of action if you receive a claim for unauthorized time is to pay the claim, but direct the employee that he or she is not permitted to work overtime without prior authorization from a manager or supervisor. Confirm that any future violation or failure to follow these directives will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Featured Products

Attendance Calendar for 2013 or 2014

Employers are responsible for ensuring protected leaves—like intermittent Family Medical Leave—are provided appropriately. Use an attendance calendar to minimize your liability by carefully tracking the hours an employee is entitled to. Note vacations, appointments and other leaves so you can be sure staff members' time is accurately recorded and each employee is paid correctly.

Standard Wall Calendar for 2013 or 2014

Accurate records aren't just useful for you—they can be essential if you're audited. Record the specific hours worked by employees so you can be sure any overtime is paid in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, and keep track of shifts so you can trace who was working on a given day. See appointments at a glance and record important dates so you don't miss critical deadlines.

Employee Record Organizer

It's important to keep a record of relevant information for each employee—in fact, it's required. Employers must maintain payroll records for seven years, and this timeframe is often a best practice for other types of employee data as well. Even after an employee has left the organization, companies must still retain the relevant data for a period of time. Use the organizer to separate the relevant information into manageable sections so you can easily locate information when needed.

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